Former MTV VJ Jesse Camp Reported Missing

By Ellis Clopton

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Riverside, Calif., police are currently investigating the disappearance of former MTV video jockey Josiah Camp, better known as Jesse Camp.

Officer Ryan J. Railsback, a spokesman with the Riverside Police Department, confirmed to Variety that Camp was reported missing by his sister, Mariah, on July 19 after he failed to respond to calls from herself and other family members, which, according to her, is unusual.

Though he does not live in Riverside, Camp was known to frequent the town and surrounding areas, and was apparently last seen there. Though his sister noted that Camp “might have been a little bit depressed lately,” Railsback said, other behavior that might have contributed to his disappearance was not specified.

Mariah Camp also went on social media to request help in finding Jesse. In an Instagram story titled “SOS!!!!,” she wrote, “If anyone has seen or heard from my brother Jesse since Saturday, please, please, please reach out to me or ask him to call home!!!”

Camp was the first winner of ’s “Wanna Be a VJ” contest in 1998, which challenged its contestants’ music knowledge and their on-air personalities. Camp received a $25,000 cash prize and a one-year VJ contract on MTV’s “Total Request Live.”

After his contract with “TRL” ended, Camp used his fame to start a short-lived career as a rock musician, putting out a record called “Jesse & the 8th Street Kidz,” which featured a duet between Camp and Stevie Nicks.